A soldier, armed with a rifle, poses for his portrait in Bristol, Pennsylvania. He appears to be standing outside but it is possible that he actually is posed in front of an excellent backdrop of an outside scene. The young man is in uniform wearing a long coat, cape, and hat. He appears to have a bayonet at his side. The previous owner of this cabinet card stated that he was an Indian War era soldier but I am wondering if he may be more likely from the Spanish American War era. Perhaps a visitor to the cabinet card gallery will enlighten us about the time period that this soldier served. There are a number of knowledgeable military collectors that visit this site who always are happy to share their wealth of information. The photographer of this image has the last name of Schafer and his studio was located on Otter Street. Judging by the monogram below the photograph, his first initial appears to be “A”. No further information about the photographer was located.
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
Reblogged this on Heil World Wars.
Wow, this is a strong, beautiful photo. I agree it looks outdoors.
I found a George Schafer photographer in Rochester, NY, 1878. No middle initial was listed on the directory though. I have noticed that photogs often changed their initials around until they liked them.
Thanks for investigating the identity of the photographer of this cabinet card. Interestingly, I have a photograph in the cabinet card gallery by the very same George J. Schaefer you mention. He operated a studio called the Sunbeam Gallery in Rochester, New York. You can view one of his photographs by entering his name in the search box.
Hi; The type of rifle shown is the “cap and ball” type rifle that was used up into the Indian Wars ers but had totally been replaced by the Krag-Jorgensen rifle which the Army had adopted in 1892. So this picture dates from between about 1870 and 1892
I have been searching for information on 19th Century Indian Wars soldiers. I appreciate the information posted by Bill about the rifle. His information corresponds to uniforms from that era according to this online resource. http://www.ushist.com/indian-wars_uniforms_us_iw_f.shtml
If anyone has photos of a grave marker typical of someone who fought in 1870-80 Indian Wars, I would appreciate any help given.